Game 1 - Flawless victory 20-0 over the Wellington City Wolves

Finally the first game of the season was upon us and after the
Wellington Wolves went down 12-0 to the Porirua Giants in game one of
the season the week before, the Spartans were expecting a bit of a
backlash from their week two opponents. This was a rematch of last years
Capital Bowl which was won in a dominant performance by the Spartans
34-8, So the home team Wolves definitely would have had revenge on the
minds as well to further motivate them for this big game. Both teams had
a lot of players ready to get the game started and this showed the main
benefit of having a three team competition this season, with all teams
looking like they have very healthy rosters in the early stages of the
season. Spartans game captains, Scott Thomson, Jonny Connor and Bevan
Wood met the opposition & the officials at midfield and came back
with the news that they would be kicking off to start their campaign in
defence of the title they won in February. After a solid kick coverage
the defence got the first chance to impress, and with six starting
rookies on that side of the ball they could have been forgiven if they
came out slightly nervous.

They came out and looked anything but
rookies, Henry Tauti, Michael Farrer, Ina Sione, Supa Afele and William
& Joe Oloapu all looked immediately like they belonged on a football
field as the Wolves were forced into an immediate three & out. With
the wind at their backs the Spartans fielded a short punt and it was
the offences turn to try and match the start that the defence had given
the team. Veteran Fullback Ese Amosa started things off with a bang! In
an eerily similar start to last years final when Scott Thomson took the
opening kickoff back for a score to set the boys up for their second
ever championship, Amosa took the first play from scrimmage about 60
yards down the right sideline for the TD. He broke a couple of tackles
as he headed toward the sideline and then got a massive block from WR
Colin Leilua-Toilolo which gave him just enough room to tip toe inside
the sideline before breaking two more cover tackles and falling into the
endzone. The sideline went up and the cheers were still being heard as
Amosa barreled his way in for the 2-point conversion on a tough run up
the middle breaking yet more tackles.

The defence continued to play impressively as they were flying around
the field and putting a lot of pressure on anyone who had the ball in
their hands. William and Vena Kalepo were both constantly in the Wolves
backfield and were really effective with their tackling and never gave
the opposition a chance to get in any sort of offensive rhythm. With a
lot of their run plays being stuffed behind the line of scrimmage, the
Wolves tried to pass their way out of trouble but Sione, dropping back
in coverage from his ILB position, stepped in front of a pass over the
middle and returned the interception about 40 yards back down to the
Wolves 10-yard line. Amosa made them pay for the turnover scoring his
second rushing touchdown in spectacular fashion. Once again he gained
yards down the right side and just short of the goal line he leapt high
to hurdle the safety and dive into the end zone. Toward the end of the
first half the Wolves had the ball near halfway but their drive stalled
with around twenty seconds left on the clock. They attempted a punt but
the punter couldn't handle the snap and was sacked for a big loss. After
telling QB Connor to take a knee to finish the half, Spartan Head Coach
Nate Lambert couldn't pass up the good field position and at the last
minute he got the call out on to the field to take a shot at the end
zone. Connor took full advantage of the opportunity and immediately
found Thomson who made an incredible catch at the front of the end zone
for a crucial TD just before halftime. With a second failed two point
attempt the Spartans went into the sheds leading by 20 points to nil.

The message at halftime from the Spartan coaches was for more of the
same as they had been dominant on both sides of the ball in racking up
their lead, and with patchy showers continuing to make the weather
conditions difficult, 20 points should have seen them far enough ahead
to win this game. But they came out in the second half and had the worst
possible start. The Wolves had upped their intensity and with Amosa on
the sideline resting a sore shoulder, the offence was starting to
struggle. They were forced into a punt and the snap went straight over
Wood's head and after a few players fumbled the ball down field, the
Wolves ended up with possession in the Spartan red zone. The defence
came up big though as they had done all day and forced a turnover on
downs as the Wolves offence continued to be suffocated by a defence that
just seemed to be all over the field. Kalepo and yet another impressive
rookie, Clint Foai were constantly getting into the backfield and
making plays. The offence was slowly working their way into good field
position before Connor held the ball a little too long before passing
and took a big sack and the ball came loose and was dived upon by the
defence for their second consecutive turnover. Connor injured his leg on
the play and didn't return to the game, so he joined Amosa on the
sideline. The defence continued to dominate though and their impressive
team effort would see the Wolves kept to zero for the second week in a
row.

The Offence, without their starting Quarterback and Running back,
worked well in the fourth quarter with Thomson under centre and Wood and
Sione filling in at FB. The weather meant the game was always going to
be a slightly messy affair but both teams did really well in playing
some very positive and exciting football throughout the afternoon. The
second half stalemate continued without too many highlights and after a
scoreless second half the game ended with a twenty to nil win for the
Hutt Valley team.

Well played to the Wolves and congratulations to the Spartans for an
impressive first up effort. Everybody that stepped foot on the field
turned up with a great team attitude and it showed in the result. The
most pleasing aspect of game one was the performance of all of the
rookies, and there were a lot of new boys out there.

There were some
very impressive shows of athleticism and instincts from some of the new
boys, and they showed how much potential they have. It is going to be a
very exciting year watching all of these players grow into their
positions and this team should move forward and become a very formidable
unit as they try to go for the Capital Bowl repeat.